Improvement in machines for forming snap-hooks



4Sheets--Sheet1. T. FUSTER.

IE GRIPHIQCO,PHOTb-LITHJSFJ PARK PLACEVNX.

4 Sheet s sheet 2 J. T. FOSTER.

Machine for Forming Snap-Hooks.' No. 159,314 Patented Feb.2,1 875.'

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TME GRAPHIC CO. FHOTO'LITPL39& 4! PARK PLACE, N-Y.

4 Sheets--Sheet 3.

T. FOSTER. Machine fur Forming Snap-Hooks. No.159,314.

Patented Feb. 2,1875.

b I v S 7 1L 4SheetS -Sheet4; I. T. FOSTER.

Machine for Fo rming Snap-Hooks. N ,159,314 Patented Feb. 2,1875.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFIC JOHN T. FOSTER, OF JEEsEY CITY, NEw EEsEY,ASSIGNOR TO FRANCIS o.

' NYE, OF NEW YORK CITY.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR FORMING SNAP-HOOKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 159,314, dated February2, 1875; application filed 7 December 24, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN T. FOSTER, of Jersey City, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented Improve- I ments inMachinery for Bending and Making Snap-Hooks, of which the following is aspeci fication:

My invention relates to an organized machine wherein wire is fed from acoil or reel, out off, placed in proper dies, bent, shaped, and formedinto snap-hooks, and delivered in a finished state from the machine by aseries of automatic operations.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, 1 willproceed to describe the same in connection with the drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a plan of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinalsection of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan of the wire-feeding mechanism.Fig. 4 is an elevation of the wirecarrier. Fig. 5 is a plan V ew withthe former in section, and shows portions of the front and sideplungers, and the shape the wire assumes as bent by them. Fig. 6 is avertical longitudinal section of the former and adjacent parts. Fig. 7is atransverse section at about the linez z of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is atransverse section at about the line a 2 of Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a plan,and Figs. 10 and 11 are elevations, of the former, the parts being shownas inverted from the position in the machine. Fig. 12 is a perspectiveview of the lower portion of the upper vertical plunger, both sides ofwhich are shown. Fig. 13 is a section through theupper and lowerverticalplungers at the line 2 2 of Fig. 6. Fig. 14 is a section of the rearplunger at the line 2 2 of Fig. 6. Figs. 15 and 16 are elevations of thesnaphook complete, and Fig. 17 is an elevation of a portion of one ofthe roulettes.

The same letters indicate the same parts in t the several figures.

The bed a and frame b of the machine are of the requisite size, shape,and strength to receive the parts hereinafter described, and aresupported upon suitable legs or standards. The motor shaft acis mountedin bearings in the frame I), and is rotated by hand or power, andgivesrotation to the shaft y by the pinion m and wheel 00*. Upon this shaft yare the cams which give the various movements to the dies or plungerswhich act upon the wire. The feeding device consists of the adjustableslide-bar 0, extending at right angles from the left-hand side of themachine, (of which the side nearest to the rear of the machine is fiat,and the upper and lower edges beveled,) and of the carrier 0 which isdovetailed to fit the beveled edges of the bar, and is provided with aspring and gib at its lower edge, and is reciprocated back and forth onthe fiat side and beveled edges of the bar by its adjustable lever 0 andlink 0. The carrier is channeled in its side with a round channel toallow the wire to pass through it, and has an openingto ac commodate thedog or clamp 0 which is pivoted to the upper part of the carrier. Thelower end of the clamp is grooved to fit the wire, and rests upon theopen part of the channel in the carrier, and is inclined to it towardthe head 0 of the slide-bar. The upper end of the clamp is united, by auniversal joint, to the link 0 which connects the carrier with the leverc", which moves it. The other end of this link is connected, by a stud,with the slotted end of the lever of the carrier. This lever has anotherslot at its fulcrum, through which passes an adjustable sleeve, having acollar on the under side of the lever, and secured to the lever by anut, 0 on its upper surface. A stud passes through this sleeve and aslot in an arm, 0, extending from and secured to the side of themachine, and forms the fulcrum of the lever. The lever is thus madeadjustable, and enables any required length of wire to be fed into themachine. Between the carrier and the head of the slide-bar an uprightlug or car is formed in the slide-bar, and the pawl 0 on the flat sideof the bar is connected with this lug by a pin, on which it moves, (seeFig. 1,) and its lower end is grooved to fit the wire and allow it topass into the machine through the groove in the pawl and its shortgrooved seat for the wire, which is secured to the flat side of theslide-bar near its head, and upon which the pawl rests. The pawl is alsoinclined to the seat and toward the head 0 of the slide-bar. Acoil-sprin g secured to the lug of the pawl, and having its other endresting upon the upper end of the pawl, causes the pawl to press gentlyupon the wire in the seat. Upon an arm secured to the outer end of theslide-bar adjustable horizontal rollers 0 are placed, between which thewire passes before it enters the carrier. The slide-bar is secured tothe under surface of the bed a by bolts passin g through the bed outsideof the bracket 6 which supports the left-hand roulette c. The bed of themachine has a slot where these bolts pass through it, so as to adjustthe shears (Z d to the required length of wire. The slidebar rests uponthe frame of the machine between the edge of the bed and the head i ofthe millin g-spindle, and is formed with a head, 0 on the side next tothe milling-spindle. To the lower part of this head the lever d of themoving shear, d is jointed, and in the upper part is screwed the fixedshear, d, and the hole through it tapers toward the inner or cuttingend. The moving shear has a cutting-edge of a semicircular form, andworks on an arc of a circle, having its center in the jointed fulcrum ofthe lever (1 and face to face with the inner surface of the head 0 ofthe slide-bar. (See Fig. 2.)

When the lever c of the carrier 0 commences to move forward the groovedend of the clamp 0 takes a firm hold upon the wire to, previously passedthrough the channel of the carrier, and as the lever continues to moveforward the wire to is carried forward by the carrier, and moved throughthe grooved end of the pawl 0 and its seat, and the aperture of thefixed shear d, and the notches c of the roulettes 6 c and beneath thefront plunger, 71., past the guides e c, and up to the adjustable stop cwhich arrests the movement of the wire into the machine by the momentumof the carrier and its lever, and, with the adjustable slide-bar andlever of the carrier, insures the feeding of exactly the given length ofwire into the machine, so that the snaphook is formed of the determinatesize. WVhile the carrier 0 moves backward the pawl 0 holds the wire, andprevents it from being carried back, and the inclined end of the clampof the carrier in like manner holds the wire while the carrier movesforward, and prevents the carrier moving on the wire. The wire is cut bythe shears d d as soon as the carrier has completed its forward motion.

The piece of wire, cut to the proper length, is moved on the bed a ofthe machine toward the former 7c, and presented -to the millingspindlesi 7' by the radial notches or slots 0 of two roulettes or disks, 6 and 6secured on a horizontal shaft, 0 having its bearings in two verticalbrackets, 0 6 secured to the bed of the machine on each side of thefront plunger, h M, and in front of the recesses i j, where themilling-spindles are set, and extendin g toward the rear of the machine.The roulettes are placed on the shaft, between its hearings in thebrackets, and each of the roulettes is provided with these notches e inits periphery, at equal distances, and of uniform depth and width, whichare suflicient to allow it is moved by the front plunger, h 7L1, up tothe former 7c. The shaft of the roulettes is set between the carrier 0and the milling-spindles, and at such height above the bed of themachine as to bring the lower notches of the roulettes, as they arerotated, into the openings in the bed, and to have the wire pass throughthe notches at about the middle of their depth. The notches are thusinclined to the bed of the machine, where the wire passes through them,and when it is delivered from them, but are nearly perpendicular to thebed when the ends of the wire are milled; and a portion-of the notch isbelow the bed of the machine as the wire is moved along the bed in thenotches of the roulettes. The notches are made with flaring months onthe side where the wire enters them, so as to guide the end of the wireand insure its passing through the notches; and the wire is furtherguided, as it passes from one roulette, 0, across the bed of themachine, and beneath the forward part, h, of the front plunger to theother roulette, 0 by two suitable guides; 6 secured to the bed of themachine in proper positions, one on each side of the front plunger, hand the first of these guides, 0 directs the wire downward, as well asacross the bed, until it passes under the front plunger, h. The roulette0, next to the shears which cut the wire, is provided with pins 0 on itsinner side, one below each notch, and the hook of a catch, e engageswith these pins successively as they come to the proper position abovethe shaft 6 of the roulettes, and, by its backward movement toward thefront of the machine, partially rotates the roulettes periodically atthe proper time, and moves the lower notches in the opposite direction,and the wire in the notches of the roulettes is thus advanced on the bedof the machine toward the former 70. An upright standard, h is securedto the upper surface of the back part, h, of the front plunger, and ahorizontal stud, h passes through this standard, to one end of which thecatch 6 is pivoted, and the other end of this stud is provided with aroller, which fits in the slotted end of the lever f of the pusher f.The forward part of the catch 6 is formed with a hook or projecting end,which rides over and drops behind one of the pins, 6 of the roulette inits forward movement, and draws the pin in its backward movement, andthus rotates the roulettes. A coil-spring, a, passing around the stud hto which the catch e is pivoted, and resting on the catch, insures thehook of the catch dropping behind the pins 6 and retaining its holdwhile it draws the pin backward. Both of the roulettes e e are exactlyalike, except the pins 0 upon the side of one of them, and they aresecured to their shaft, so as to bring the notches of the respectiveroulettes exactly in line with one another.

Between the roulettes and the upright standard h, secured to the backpart, h of the front plunger, are two upright columns, 6 6

. surface of it; and the lever f of the pusher f is hung horizontally inthe slot of the upper stud, f and the lever g of the griper g in theslot of the lower stud, g. A flat spring, 6 is secured betweenthebracket 0 and column e next to the roulette which has the pins, and thisspring extends toward the roulette e, and is grooved at its other end inits upper surface to fit the pins e of the roulette, which passsuccessively into this groove as the roulette is rotated, and are heldsteady there, thus keeping the roulettes from moving while the ends ofthe wire are milled. (See Fig. 17.) The distance between the notches ofthe roulettes is such that when one of the notches is in line with thewire as it is fed into the machine, the sec ond notch from it toward theformer 7c is in line with the milling-spindles i j When the catch 6commences to move backward, the two notches in the two roulettes e e,which correspond with each other, are in line with the wire as it is fedinto the machine, and by each backward movement of the catch the nextsucceeding notches, onein each roulette, are brought in line with thewire as it is fed into the machine, and the next preceding notches arebrought in line with the millingspindles i 3", while the notches secondin advance are brought to the position where the piece of wire isdelivered from them in advance of the front plunger, h, to be moved byit to the former. An adjustable stop, c flis secured to the bed a of themachine, outside of the right-hand roulette c and between themilling-spindlej and the bracket 0 and opposite to the notch of theroulette a, through which the wire passes as it is fed into the machine.This stop has a slot in its base, through which it is bolted to the beda, and which enables it to be set at any required distance from theshears d d which cut the wire.

The slot in the end of the lever f of the pusher f is angular, oneportion of it running lengthwise of the lever, and the remaining orfront portion inclining downward, and the roller which is fitted andmoves in this slot causes the pusher f to descend by its downwardmovement in the inclined part of the slot, and to ascend by its upwardmovement therein. The end g of the lever g of the griper 9 is shaped tofit an inclined toe, h, secured to the front plunger, h near the frontof the machine, and in the forward movement of the front plunger, h,this toe h passes under the inclined end g of the lever g of the griperg, and brings the griper down firmly upon the piece of wire w, that isready to be milled, and holds it there until the milling is performed,and passes out with the backward movement of the front plunger, 71leaving the griper 9 free to rise from the wire. A flat spring, 9secured between the yoke e and its lower slotted. stud, g and resting onthe lever g of the griper g, between its fulcrum and its inclined end 9causes the griper g to move up' from the wire as soon as the frontplunger, h commences to move backward. The movement of the frontplunger, it, thus gives motion at the proper time to the roulettes e 6the pusher f, and the griper g.

The roulettes are at rest while the carrier is feeding the wire into themachine, and the ends of the wire are milled, and they are moved onlyduring the backward movement of the front plunger.

The ends of the wire are milled or dressed to the desired form bycutters 2' j, one on each side of the machine, secured to and near theinner ends of their spindles i j which are supported in heads Pf,secured in recesses, 15 j in the bed of the machine. The spindles i 3'have respectively two bearings in their heads a? j one at the outer endof each spindle and the other near the inner end. The bearings areformed in journal-boxes, half in the heads and half in the caps coveringthe spindles at the bearings, and secured to the heads. The spindles 'ij are set transversely upon the machine and between the guides Z P, andthe head 0 of the slide-bar on the left-hand side, and the adjustablestop 0" on the righthand side, of the machine. The inner end of eachspindle is bored of asize to admit the Wire, and the inner apertures, 13j, of the bores are made flaring, so as to direct the ends of the wireinto the bores, and insure the milling of the ends of the wire before itis formed into a snap-hook. The recesses i j are made sufliciently deepto bring the bores in theinner ends of the spindles in line with thepiece of wire on the bed of the machine, and the left-hand recess i islarge enough to receive as well the slide-bar c, with its head 0 and themoving shear (Z and the notches e of the roulette e, as the head i ofthe cutter i and in order to accommodate these parts, the recess 2' onthat side of the machine is cut entirely through the bed a. The spindlest j have recesses on. one side near their inner ends, and the cuttersz'j are set in these recesses where the bores in the spindles terminate.Upon the outer sides of these recesses, the spindles are provided withshoulders which are formed by turning the spindles of unequal diameters,the inner parts being of larger diameter than the outer, and theseshoulders are supported and reciprocated back and forth in one of thebearings of the spindles. Coil-springs i j are placed between theseshoulders and loose collars i 3' encircling the spindles and havingsquare grooves in their periphery, in which engage rollers and studssecured to the levers Wj",

which move the collars backward and forward on the spindles. By means ofthis collar, spring, and shoulder, and the reciprocating motion of thespindle, each of the cutters is brought into yielding contact with theend of the wire during the milling, which is thus effected gently anduniformly. On the other side of the respective collars i j, and betweenthem and the outer bearings, pulleys 2' j are secured to the spindles byset-screws, and belts 15 pass respectively over these pulleys and otherpulleys, 00 w, on the upper shaft, 00, of the machine, by which thespindles d of the cutters are rotated. One of these belts, 7J iscrossed, and thus the spindles are rotated in opposite directions, whichaids in preventing the wire from revolving during the milling of theends. The bores in the ends i j of the spindles also support the wirewhile its ends are milled. The wire is kept from moving during themilling of its ends by the griper g, the notches e of the ronlettes, thebores in the ends of the spindles, the rotation of the spindles inopposite directions, and the yielding contact of the cutters 11 j withthe ends of the wire. The griper g is forked, and the two prongs g seizethe wire on each side of the front plunger, h h The ends of the prongs gg are provided with square grooves in line with the wire, and the widthof the grooves is little less than the diameter of the wire, so that thetwo prongs g g of the griper impinge upon the wire with the edges oftheir grooves, and take a firm hold upon it. The griper g standsvertical and in line with the millin s )indles i and is brou ht down uon the wire by the horizontal lever 9 extending from the middle of thegriper toward the front of the machine. The cutters i j are formed bysteel pieces, grooved diagonally at one end, which comes next to theapertures i j of the bores in the spindles. The cuttingedges are exactlythe same in both cutters, and of a semicircular or other shape proper tocut the ends of the wire to a tapering or other desired form. The endsof the wire are out only by one of the upper edges of the grooves, oneend of the wire being cut by the rear upper edge, and the other end bythe front upper ed ge, j ,of the groove. The thickness ofthe steelpieces and their position in the recesses of the spindles 2' i is suchthat the cutting-edges 2' j meet the wire exactly in a plane passingthrough the center of the wire and parallel to the bed a of the machine,on which the wire rests. The cutters t'j are secured to the recesses inthe spindles by screws passing through slots in the steel pieces, andare sharpened by simply whettin g the cuttingedges "6 j, and as thecutting-edges i j wear off, the cutters are adjusted by the slots, whichenable the cutters to be moved, one, 6, forward, and the other, j,backward toward thecenter of the spindles i sufficiently to bring thecutting-edges 71 always in contact with the wire at its ends when themilling is to be performed. The spindles t' j of the cutters are rotatedconstantly, but are moved to and from the wire by the levers 2' j. Themilling is performed on the circumference and toward the center of thewire, and the form of the cutters and their path of motion do not permitthe ends of the wire to be shortened by the cutters. The milling iscommenced immediately after the forward motion of the front plunger isfinished, and is completed and the cutters moved backward from the wireby the time the piece of wire in advance of that on which the milling isperformed is formed into a snap-hook.

The cut piece of wire, with its ends milled, is made into a snap-hook bythe stationary die or former is, set about in the middle of the machine;the horizontal movable die or plunger h, having a reciprocating movementon the bed a, between the front of the machine and the former is fourhorizontal movable dies or plungers, a 0 p 1*, having reciprocatingmovements on the bed a, two of them, a 19, between the left-hand side ofthe machine and the former 7t, and two, 0 1", between the right-handside and the former; the stationary dies or abutments 70" p a 7',against which two of these lateral plungers p 4, one on each side of themachine, act; two vertical movable dies or plungers, s t,having'reciprocatingmovements in an opening in the bed; amovablemandrel, u, and a horizontal movable die or plunger, 0, having areciprocating movement on the bed a, between the rear of the machine andthe former, or the mandrel a, against which it acts.

The frontplunger, which first bends the piece of wire against theformer,is madein two parts, h h which are united by a hinge or loosejoint, (seeFig. 2,) and the forward part, h, is forked at its end, so as to make ahorizontal opening in it of suitable size, grooved to fit the wire, andof a square, round, or other shape, to conform to the front proj ection,70 on the face of the former, round which it bends the wire to make theloop of the snap-hook. The forked end iv is depressed below the undersurface of the remainder of the plunger to the same depth as the heightof theseat ofthe back part, h, ofthc plunger, which is raised upon thebed a of the ma chine a little higher than the diameter of the wire, soas to allow the pieces of wire to move freely on the bed of the machinebeneath the plunger h, and between the seat of the back part, h and thedepressed end h of the fore part of the plunger. This depression 71/ isinclined at the rear to the under surface of the remainder oftheplunger, so that in the backward motion of the plunger the depressed endh slides up on the most advanced piece of wire, which is held in thenotches e of the roulettes e c, and carried forward by them upon the beda of the machine while the plunger is moving backward, and drops down tothe bed a again as it falls behind this piece of wire, which is carriedfarther forward by the roulettes until it is delivered by them betweenthe plunger and the former, ready to be bent into form. The bed aof themachine is the seat upon which the depressed end h of this plunger movesin its forward motion, and also in its backward motion, except while itis riding over the piece of wire. The forward end, h of the raised seatof the back part of this plunger is in line with the seat of the wire 20as it is fed into the machine formed by the tubular shear d, the seat ofthe pawl and the channel of the carrier, and serves as a guide for thewire as it passes to the notch of the right-hand roulette e. The forwardpart, h, of this plunger is kept to the bed a of the machine by a flatspring, h secured to the upper surface of the back part, h by a tapbolt,which passes through the spring and plunger, and screws into one of theguides of the back part, W, of the plunger, and secures this guide tothe under side of the plunger. The back part, h of this plunger is alsokept in position by another guide, secured to its under side by atap-bolt, which passes through the plunger and the base of the uprightstandard h, and screws into the guide, and secures the standard h to theupper surface of the back part, h, of the plunger. Both of these guidesfit into a slot in the bed a of the machine, and have flanges extendingbeyond the slot on each side, which move along the under side of the beda, the guides being thus shaped like the letter T. These guides arebeneath the plunger 71., and are not shown in the drawings. As thisplunger moves the piece of wire forward to the former k, the ends of thewire are brought up against two upright adjustable guides, l I, one oneach side of the plunger, with their front ends rounded off toward thefront and sides of the machine, but having each of their rear ends atexactly the same distance from the central line of the machine, andparallel to each other. Each end of the wire is in contact with one ofthese rear points at the instant when the front plunger begins to bendthe wire around the former k, and hence both of the hooks in thefinished snaphook are of the same size and shape. These guides l l aremade adjustable by means of slots in their bases, through which passscrews, and secure the guides to the under surfaces of two horizontalguides, 1 Z, one on each side of the machine, which keep the wire downupon the bed of the machine while it is moved from the roulettes to theformer, and during the first part of the sweep of thearms of the wireround the former. The stationary die or former is composed of a squarehead, is, and a shank, k on which is a screw-thread, and the face of theformer is provided with two projections, 76 10 against which the wire isbent by the plungers to form the loop and middle bends of the snap-hook,or with but one projection, if, when the former is used in making asnap-hook without the inward bends w 20 The surfaces k k of the face arebeveled or inclined in opposite directions, and both of these inclinedsurfaces make the same angle with the flat shoulder k of the former,where the shank k projects from the head k. The surfaces 10 k of theface are inclined, so as to allow the two arms of the wire to be sprungup and down, respectively, without bending them out of a straight linewhen the wire is bent round the former by the front plunger, and hencethe sides of the face are inclined b'oth longitudinally andtransversely, the left-hand side, It, as the former stands in themachine, being inclined from the rear 70 of the head upward to the front70 and from the middle of the face upward to the left-hand side, 7c", ofthe head, so as to allow the lefthand arm of the wire to be sprung down,and the right-hand side, W, of the face being inclined from the front,70 upward to the rear, it, of the head, and from the middle of the facedownward to the right-hand side, 70 of the head, so as to allow theright-hand arm to be sprung up. These surfaces 70 70 also support andguide the lateral plungers a o p 1' in making their bends in the wireagainst the former k. The shank k of the former has a hole, is, throughits center, which extends through the head 70, and the aperture in theface of the former is between the two projections 10 k on the face. Therod or pusher f, which knocks off the finished snap-hook from themachine, is fitted in this hole, and moved up and down in it. The lowerend of the pusher is provided with a head shaped like the letter T, andthe face of the former has a recess in it to accommodate the head of thepusher when it is withdrawn within the former 70 during the forming ofthe snap-hook. In the downward movement of the pusher the T-head meetsthe arms of the finished snaphook at the neck formed by the inward bendsbetween the loop and the swell in the arms, and pushes the snap'hookgently from the former. The upper end of the pusher is connected by apin and socket with the lever f which actuates the pusher. The shank 7cand head k of the former are made in one piece, and the projections 70 kon the face may also be made in the same piece; but I prefer to makethem in separate pieces, so that they may be removed if they get broken,or it is for any other reason desirable to change them and new ones putin their places without changing the whole former. The projection 70round which the loop to is formed, is dovetailed to the face of theformer and secured thereto by a screw, it, passing through the front 70of the head, and the other projection k is fitted in the socket in theface and secured thereto by a pin passing through the righthand side 70of the head. The back 70 of the head of the former is provided with aslot, 70 and the sides of the slot 70 support the upper verticalplunger, 8, preventing it from being sprung out of its proper path, andthe depressed end It at the left-hand side of the slot makes, inconjunction with the under surface, of the cap 12 of the rear plunger,1), at the left-hand side of the slot '0' in the cap, with which it isin line, the abutment against which the opposite or upper arm of thewire is bent when the arms are crossed. A small portion of each of thehooks is formed by the vertical plungers s t in this slot 70 in theformer. The back k of the head of the former, on the right-hand side ofthe slot, is grooved at its lower edge, where it guides and supports thesquare head a of the mandrel a. The former is placed in about the centerof the machine, with its face down and its shank k up, and theprojection k around which the loop is formed, nearest to the front ofthe machine, and the slot 70 in the former nearest to the rear of themachine, and with the back k of the head extending beyond the rear side,u, of the upright standard a sufficiently to afford a seat and supportfor the square head a of the mandrel u, and the former 7c is secured toa support, 70 of suitable shape by a nut, k, and the support is boltedat its ends 70 7& to the cap 01 which covers the rear plunger, '12. Anopening, q (1 is made in the bed a beneath the former, and extendingtoward the rear of the machine, of which the portion q in front of theupright standard a is of similar shape to the snap-hook from the loop tothe crossing of the arms, and the remaining or rear portion, 1 issquare. The width of the rear portion, q, is a little more than the twodiameters of the arms of the wire, and its length is sufficient to allowthe two arms of the wire to be carried into it in the crossing of thearms, and the vertical plungers s t and the vertical portion o of therear plunger, o, to move in it in forming the hooks of the snap-hook,and the en- Tire opening is large enough to admit of the finishedsnap-hook dropping freely through it when it is knocked off of theformer. The projections 70 k on the face of the former enter thisopening q for a short distance, and the inclined surfaces 70 k of theface of the former overhang the upper surface of the bed a of themachine, and are a little more than the diameter of the wire abox'e iton each side of the opening. By placing the former is in the positionshown in Figs. 2 and 6, and forming the opening q (1 in the bed of themachine below it, the snap-hook is allowed to drop from the machineafter it is finished, and, when the pusher f knocks it off the formerit, into a receptacle set under the machine. The front plunger, h, inits forward motion, meets the piece of wire which lies upon the bed ofthe machine between the plunger h and the former 7c, and moves itforward out of the notches e of the roulettes, and against the frontprojection, 70 on the face of the former, and the forked end of theplunger bends the wire round the projection W, and causes the two armsof the wire, one on each side of the machine, to sweep over the bed a ofthe machine, and the lateral plungers n 0 p r, lying in their recessesin the bed a, and the right-hand arm of the wire is moved up theinclined plane 1" upon the bed of the machine, and the inclination ofthe upper surfaces of the plungers 0 1', and of the standard a whichsupports the head of the mandrel, and beneath the recess in the undersurface, above the inclined plane 0" of the cap '0, which covers therear plunger; and the left-hand arm is moved down the depression p inthe bed of the machine, and the upper surface of the steel piece at setin the recess in the bed a, and of the two plungers a p on that side ofthe machine, and beneath the recess in the under surface of the cap 11of the rear plunger above the depression 1) in the bed. The arms of thewire are also swept under the overhanging inclined surfaces 70' k in theface of the former, corresponding respectively to the inclination anddepression below them where the arms are sprung up and down. The arms ofthe wire are elevated and depressed, respectively, to the extent of alittle more than one-half of the diameter of the wire at the point wherethe arms cross each other, so that the two arms are in contact with eachother where the crossing is made in them. The plane of elevation of onearm and the plane of depression of the other make, respectively, thesame angle, with the plane parallel to the upper surface of the bed ofthe machine, and passing through the front plunger, h, the former is,and the center of the wire between them. The arms of the wire are sprungup and down, respectively, as they are swept around the former, in orderto carry the two arms across each other, after the lateral bends aremade in them, without making an abrupt or sharp bend in one or both ofthe arms, and to keep the arms straight until the vertical plungers meetthem, and to preserve the spring of the wire in the finished snap-hookat the point where the arms cross each other. The elasticity of the wireat that point keeps the arms of the wire always in contact with eachother in the snap-hook. The ends of the arms of the wire are guided asthey are elevated and depressed, respectively, by the under surface ofthe cap c which covers the rear plunger, 11. This cap is set on the bedof the machine, with its front edge in line with the rear side, m*, ofthe recess m in the bed, and has a slot, o in it of the same size and inline with the square opening g in the bed, which is to the rear of therear side, m, of the recess m in the bed. The vertical plungers s t andthe vertical portion o of the rear plunger make part of their movementin this slot. The inclined plane 1", up which the right-hand arm of thewire is sprung, is set on the bed a, to the rear of the recess m in thebed, and in line with the side m of the recess m and with its back r inline with the right-hand side of the square opening g in the bed, and issecured to the bed a by countersunk screws, and its upper surface isalso inclined from the side in line with the side m of the recess upwardto its opposite side. The depression 19 in the bed a, down which theleft-hand arm of the wire is sprung, extends to the rear of the recess min the bed, and is inclined from the left-hand side of the squareopening q in the bed upward to the length of the inclined plane 1", andfrom the side of the recessm, toward the rear of the machine, downwardto the width of the inclined plane 1". The under surface of the cap 12of the rear plunger has two recesses, r p, in it, one on each side ofthe slot 01 in the cap, and above and parallel with the inclined plane rand the depression 19 in the bed, respectively, and the space betweeneach of these recesses and the inclined plane and depression below them,respectively, is sufficient to allow the respective arms of the wire topass freely up and down in it. The height of the inclined plane, as wellas the depth of the depression, is sufficient to bring the two arms ofthe wire nearly in contact in making the crossing in them. The uppersurface of the upright standard a is beveled or inclined both from itsinner end, ar toward the side of the machine, downward, and from itsfront side, a", upward to the opposite side, if, in line with theinclind plane r", and the upper surface of the steel piece m is inclinedboth from its inner end, toward the side of the machine, upward, andfrom its front side downward to the opposite side, so as to be in thesame plane with the depression 19 in the bed, and afford seats for therespective arms of the wire as they are sprung up and down in theirsweep round to the former. This movement of the front plunger makes thefirst bend in the wire, partially forming the loop, and leaves the twoarms of the wire with their ends resting, respectively, upon theinclined plane r set on the bed, and the depression 19 in the bed.

There are four lateral plungers, n 0 p 1', two on each side of theformer, which are made in two parts, a n 0 0 1912 7' 1' united by ahinge or joint, a and move forward and backward in recesses m m sunk inthe bed of the machine, and up and down the beveled edges of flat platesm m fitted in the recesses m m, and forward and backward upon theseplates, and in directions at right angles to the front plunger, h.

The recesses m m are made to [it the plungers n 0 p 1', which areembedded in them side by side, and move to and from the former incontact with each other, and the plates m m fitted in the recesses, havetheir inner edges, m of, square, and their outer edges, on" m", beveledor inclined abruptly to the bed of the recesses, and toward the side ofthe machine, and the respective outlines of the square or inner edges, mm of these plates are the same as the opening q, with which they are setin line, and the plates m m are secured to the bed of the recesses bycountersunk screws. Each of these plates is of the same and uniformthickness, which is a little more than the diameter of the wire. Therecess m in the bed of the machine, upon the right-hand side of theopening, is made wider than the recess m. upon the left-hand side, andthe length of each of these plates on m is the same as the width of therecess in which it fits; but the recesses m m may be conveniently madein the bed of the machine before the opening q is made by cutting acontinuous recess of equal width in the bed, or casting the bed with therecess in it from side to side, and in that case a blank steel piece,at, is set in the recess on the left-hand side of the opening, on alevel with the bed, and having its inner end in line with the openingand opposite to the mandrel a, thus reducing the recess m to the widthrequired for the two lateral plungers n 1) alone. This steel piece in,or the bed of the machine at the corresponding place, has a cavity, an,in its upper surface, at its inner end, opposite to the mandrel a, andthis cavity m conforms in shape to the tapering end of the roundmandrel, and supports it while the hooks are bent around it. The side mof this piece supports the lateral plunger 1) next to it, while theplunger is acting on the wire, and guides,

it in its forward and backward motion. The longer plate m has an uprightstandard, a, in it, which is in line with the opening q in the bed atits inner end, a and divides the recess m in two parts, in one of whichthe two lateral plungers 0 1' work, and in the other the mandrel u, an dthe standard 20 which may be made in one piece with the plate m servesas a support on one side, a", for the plunger 1 next to it, while theplunger is acting on the wire, and on the other, 10 for the square heada of the mandrel while the hooks are formed round the mandrel. The innerend, a, of the standard is opposite to the side 7c" of the depression inthe face of the former k, and makes, in conjunction with the back 1' ofthe inclined plane 1" set on the bed, the abutment against which theopposite or lower arm of the wire is bent when the arms are crossed.

The lateral plungers n 0 p r are jointed freely, so as to rest in therecesses m m in the bed of the machine, and allow the wire to pass overthem as it is swept round on the bed a to the former k by the frontplunger, h, and so as to permit their inner ends to be elevated and de-.

pressed in the course of their forward and backward motion. The backpart a o p 1' of each of the lateral plungers is exactly flush with theupper surface of the bed of the machine, and the under surface of thefore pait of each of them is cut away for at least so much'of the lengthof the plunger from its inner end toward the joint of in the plunger asadvances along the plate m m set'in the recess in the forward motion ofthe plunger, and the lower edge of the inner end of each of the lateralplungers is rounded so as to ride easily up and down the beveled edge mm of the plate. The upper surface of the forward part of each of thelateral plungers is beveled or inclined at its inner end, both from sideto side and lengthwise, so as to correspond respectively with theinclination of the inclined plane 1" set on the bed, and with thedepression 19 in the bed, and so that when the plungers n 0 p r arebending the wire round the former their inner ends may be supported attheir upper surfaces by the beveled faces k k of the former.Accordingly, the upper surface of the inner end of the first of thelateral plungers, n, on the left-hand side of the former, is beveleddownward from the front to the rear side and upward from the inner end,and the correspondin g surface of the second lateral plunger, 9, next toit is beveled still more in both directions, to allow the left-hand armof the wire to be sprung down as it is swept up to the former by thefront plunger, 1),- while the correspondin g surface of the firstlateral plunger on the right-hand side of the former is beveled upwardfrom the front to the rear side and downward from the inner end, and thecorresponding surface of the second lateral plunger next to it isbeveled still more in both directions to allow the right-hand arm of thewire to be sprung up as it is swept up to the former by the frontplunger, h. The inner ends of the lateral plungers a 0 p 1' are made toconform respectively with the projections 70 70 on the face of theformer it, against which they bend the wire, and are provided withgrooves which fit the wire and are inclined so as to correspond with theupward and downward direction of the respective arms of the wire. Two ofthe lateral plungers, p r, not only finish the middle bend in therespective arms of the snaphook commenced by the other lateral plungers,n 0, but also carry the arms across each otherthe upper or right-handarm over the lower arm and the lower or left-hand arm under the upperarm-and bend them against dies, stops, or abutments 70 p a 0", so thatwhen the motion of these plungers is ended the two arms are crossed andbent nearly straight and parallel to each other.

The inner ends of the lateral plungers p 1', which cross the arms of thewire, are each of them provided with a fin ger, p a, at their upperedges on the side nearest to the back plungel-,1], which may be formedby elongating the end of each of the plungers p r at that place, and theplungers bend the wire by means of these fingers or elongated ends. Thegroove in the end of each of these plungers is continuous, extendingfrom one side of the plunger to the other. The projecting end 1 of theplunger 1', which moves the upper wire, has a recess beneath the fingeri, so as to allow it, with the upper wire in its groove, to pass overthe lower wire in the groove of the plunger 19, and reciprocally toallow the lower wire in the groove of the finger p of the plunger 1),which moves it, to pass under the finger r in the crossing of the twoarms of the wire; and the thickness of this finger if r is sufficient toallow the grooves to be made in it, though but little more than thediameter of the wire. The under surface of this finger r at the rearedge, and the recess below this finger, are made concave, so as to fitthe wire, and afford a seat for the lower wire while the verticalplunger t is making the upward bend 10 in it, and the upper surface ofthe finger p of the plunger 19, which moves the lower wire at its rearedge, is made concave, so as to fit the wire and afford a seat for theupper wire while the vertical plunger 8 is making its downward bend 20in it. The upper surfaces of these plungers are partly guided by caps n0 one on each side of the opening q, covering them back of their joints,and secured to the bed of the machine by tap bolts, which also pass onthe side of the recess nearest to the front of the machine, through theguides Z Z, and secure these guides to the upper surface of the caps 11.0 The two arms of the wire cross each other directly behind the rearprojection, 70 on the face of the former, and between the inner end ofthe upright standard a, which supports the head of the mandrel, and Vthe depression is" at the left-hand side of the slot 70 in the back ofthe former. The first two lateral plungers, a 0, commence to moveforward just before the front plunger, h, completes its forward motion,and make the inward bends, 10 w, in the respective arms of the wire,completing the loop-w, and partially forming the middle outward bends,20 w in the arms, and they remain in contact with the arms, and preservethe form in which they have bent them, while the other lateral plungersand the vertical and back plungers are acting on the wire, and theycommence to move backward just before the forward motion of the backplunger, 1), is completed. The form in which the arms of the wire isbent by these lateral plungers is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Thesecond lateral plungers, p r, commence to move forward just before theforward motion of the other lateral plungers is finished, and they meetthe wire just after the inward bends are made in the arms of the wire,and complete the outward bends, 20 w", in the arms of the wire and carrythe arms across each other, the elevated or right-hand arm above andacross the depressed or lefthand arm, and the lower arm below and acrossthe upper, and bend the arms against their respective abutments, firstcausing the ends of the wire to move into the opening q in the bed a,and against the back 1" of the inclined plane 1, and the under surfaceof the cap 11 of the rear plunger at the left-hand side, 11, of the slotv in the cap; and as the forward motion of these lateral plungerscontinues, the arms of the wire are moved across each other, anddiagonally against the end a of the standard a, which supports the headof the mandrel, and the left-hand side, 7c", of the depression in theface of the former and angular bends are made in the arms near the pointwhere they have crossed each other, so that the arms lie straight, 10 M0with their planes nearly parallel to each other, and extend into thesquare opening q in the bed at. These lateral plungers remain in contactwith the wire while the vertical and back plungers are acting, andcommence to move backward at the same time with the back plunger. Theform in which the wire is left by the action of these lateral plungersupon it is shown in Fig. 5. There are two vertical plungers orbending-dies, s t, which move simultaneously and at the same rate ofmotion, and one of which, 8, moves downward in the square opening g inthe bed, and the slot k in the back of the former, and the slot 12 inthe cap of the rear plunger, and the other, it, upward in the squareopening q, and in the slot o in the cap, to

' make their bends in the respective arms of the wire, and theypartially form the hooks and bend the straight remaining portions, 10 20of the arms nearly at right angles with the bed of the machine. Thesevertical plungers form a semicircular bend, 10 20 in each of the arms ofthe wire, so that the two bends, if in the same plane, would make anearly true circle. Both of these plungers are exactly alike attheirinner ends, where they hold and bend the wire, so that when their endsare brought together, as in the machine, where one ascends and the otherdescends at the same time and in such direction that their ends meetexactly, they fit into each other. Each of these plungers is recessed onboth sides at its inner end, so as to form two dies, 8 s s s t t t t",on each side, one of which is a male die, 8 s 25 t and the other afemale die, 8 s t t, and the plungers are so adjusted in the machinethat upon their ends coming together each male die of one of theplungers is in the female die, which is on the reverse side of the samemale die of the other plunger. One of the male dies, 8 t, of each ofthese plungers bends an arm of the wire against its female die, t s, inthe other plunger, and forms the semicircular bend, wl? 20 in'it, and atthe same time the other male die, 8 t of the latter plunger bends thesame rm against its female die, t 8 in the former phpnger, and causesthe arms w" @0 to stand nearly at right angles to the plane of the loopw of the snap-hook. The male die 8 t, which forms this nearlyperpendicular bend in the straight arm, is longer than the male die 8 twhich forms the semicircular bend sufficiently to meet the end of thewire 20 w before the shorter male die t s of the other plunger meets it,and commences to make its semicircular bend in it, so that therespective arms of the wire are supported while the semicircular bendsare made in them by the lateral plungers near the crossing of the arms,and by these longer male dies, 8 t near the ends of the arms, and areprevented from being sprung down or up and sidewise in the opening (1 inthe bed by the male dies 8 t of the descending or ascending plungers,which form the semicircular bends in the arms. The male die 8 t of eachof these plungers, which forms the semicircular bend in the wire, is ofa round form, and the other male die, 8 t is of an elliptical form, andthe female dies 8 s t t are concave, and made to conform respectively totheir male dies. Both the concave and convex ends or bending-surfaces ofthe dies are grooved with round grooves to fit the wire, and aiford aseat for it in making their respective bends in the wire Each of thesevertical plungers s t is of a thickness a little more than the twodiameters of the arms of the wire which are bent in them. These verticalplungers commence to move the ascending plunger t upward, and thedescending plunger 8 downward, as soon as the two lateral plungers, p T,which cross the arms of the wire, have ceased to move forward, and theascending plunger t bends the lower arm, 20 of the wire upward againstthe descending plunger 8, and the under surface of the projecting part Wof the lateral plunger 1, which moves the upper arm of the wire andforms the semicircular bend to in the lower arm, and at the same timethe remaining straight portion 20 of the lower arm is bent downward andnearly at right angles to the plane of the bed of the machine, and thede scending plunger 8 bends the upper arm, 10 of the wire downwardagainst the ascending plunger t, and the upper surface of the projectingpart 12 of the lateral plunger 19, which moves the lower arm of the wireand forms the semicircular bend 10 in the upper arm, and at the sametime the remaining straight portion w" of the upper arm is bent upwardand nearly at right angles to the bed of the machine; and these plungersmove back again the ascending plunger t downward, and the descendingplunger 8 upward, immediately after making their respective bends ineach arm of the wire. The form in which the wire is left after thesevertical plungers have made their bends in it is shown in Fi .6. Thedescending plunger 8 is secured to its lever s by tap-bolts s; but theascending plunger 15 extends below its connection 2& t with its lever tand is pivoted to its lever, and this lower part has a stud, W, in itsside near its end, which engages in an angular slot in a bar, 15 securedto the frame a, of the machine, and by this means the grooved end of theascending plunger t, after it has moved downward and out of the openingg in the bed of the machine, is further moved toward the rear of themachine by the movement of the stud it toward the front of the machinein the slot, so as to be out of the way of the finished snap-hook whenit drops from the machine. This slotin the bar is straight for a portionof its length, in which the stud t of the lower part of the plungermoves downward in the downward motion of the plunger, and the directionof the remainder of the slot is toward the front of the machine, and thestud t moves in this latter portion of the slot during the remainder ofthe downward motion of the lever of the ascending plunger, and swingsthe grooved end of the plunger toward the back of the machine. Thevertical plungers are slotted where they are secured to their lovers,the upper plunger by tap-bolts s and the lower by a pin, i through slotsin the lever and plunger, and they are thus rendered adjustable, andthey are set in the machine in such position that both move in makingthe semicircular bends in the wire pastthecentrallinerunningthrough thecenter of the hooks of the finished snaphook, and the point of crossingof the arms, and move to exactly the same distance beyond said centralline, so that the two hooks of the finished snap-hook are exactlyconcentric with each other.

The mandrel a fits in the recess m in the bed, on the right-hand side ofthe opening g between the upright standard a in the plate m set in therecess and the side m of the recess, and it moves on the bed of therecess and the plate m set in the bed, and its upper surface is flushwith the bed, except at its inner end, and is guided by the side an ofthe recess and the plunger 1" neXt to it, and by the cap which coversit, as well as the plungers 0 won the same side of the opening q. Theinner end of the mandrel is raised and rounded sufficiently to fit thesemicircular bends 10 10 in the arms of the wire, and bring the centerof the round end of the mandrel into said central line of the finishedsnap-hook, and its inner end is also tapered slightly, so as to passreadily into and through the semicircular bends in the arms of the wire.The under surface of the mandrel at its inner end is recessed, so as toallow the mandrel to pass over the plate set in the bed of the recess.The square head a, (see Fig. 1,) next to the round portion of the innerend of the mandrel, is supported by the upright standard a in the platem set in the recess m and the tapering end of the round mandrel u fitsinto the cavity m made in. the upper surface of the steel piece 112, setopposite to the mandrel in the recess m. The round mandrel u and itssquare head a are also supported by the lower edge of the back 70" ofthe former, on the right-hand side of the slot k in the former, and themandrel is thus held firmly while the back plunger is completing thebending of the hooks round it. The mandrel is drawn back out of the wayof the arms of the wire as they are swept over the bed of the machine inmaking the first bend in the wire, and commences to move forward whilethe vertical plungers s t are moving away from the wire, and passesthrough the semicircular bends 10 20 after the vertical plungers havemoved away from them, and remains within the semicircular bends untilthe back plunger, c, has bent the hooks round it, and commenced itsbackward motion, when the mandrel moves backward and leaves the finishedsnap-hook free to drop from the machine.

The rear plunger is made in two parts, o '0 united by countersunkscrews, so that the forward part, 1;, may be readily removed and anothersubstituted for it of the same or different size. The inner end, 11 ofthe forward part is forked, so as to leave a vertical circular openingfor forming the hooks around the mandrel. Each side, '0 c, Fig. 14, ofthe vertical opening is composed of two diesone longer than the otherthelower left-hand and the upper right-hand dies o o being longer than theupper left-hand and the lower right-hand dies o o. The two sides 0 Q ofthe opening are exactly alike, but in reverse positions to each other.The shorter dies 0 v in each side of the opening bend the straightportions 20" 20 of the arms of the wire round the mandrel, and completethe hooks. The longer dies 22 n in each side of the opening meet thesemicircular bends @0 @0 formed by the vertical plungers, before theshorter dies meet the straight portions of the arms, and support thesemicircular bends, while the straight portions of the same arm are bentround the mandrel, and thus prevent the semicircular portions from beingbent up or down, and out of the circular form, while the straightportions of the arms are bent round to complete the hooks. The rearpart, c, of the back plunger is square, and the fore part of it is alsosquare for a short distance from the connection between the two; but theremaining portion '0 to the inner end of the plunger is flattened, so asto bring the flat portion in a vertical position in the machine. Thewidth of this flat portion is a little more than the diameter of thehooks in the finished snaphook, and its thickness is a little more thantwo diameters of the wire, and the dies in each side of the opening aremade with continuous grooves in them, fitting the wires so that theypartly encircle the two hooks in completing the bending of the hooks.The back plunger is fitted in two right-angled grooves, 02 'v one, 11made in the bed of the machine, and the other, 0, in the cap whichcovers the back plungerwhich serve as guides and supports for theplunger in its forward and backward motion, and the plunger is setcornerwise in these grooves, and its vertical end moves in the squareopening formed in the bed of the machine and in the cap of the backplunger. The back plunger, 2;, commences to move forward as soon as theforward motion of the mandrel u is ended, and the longer end 11 of theupper part of the opening meets the semicircular bend @0 in the lowerarm of the wire, and supports it while the shorter end 0 of the lowerpart of the opening on the same side of the vertical portion 02 of theback plunger is bending the straight portion 20 of the same arm roundthe mandrel u to complete the hook in it and the longer end a of thelower part of the opening meets the semicircular bend in the upper armof the wire, and supports it while the shorter end 12 of the upper partof the opening on the same side of the vertical por tion 11 of the backplunger is bending the straight portion 20" of the upper arm round themandrel, and completes the hook in the upper arm; and the back plungercommences to move backward as soon as the two books are finished andslightly in advance of the backward motion of the mandrel u. Thefinished snap-hook, (shown in Figs. 15 and 16,) after the back plungerhas formed the hooks in it, is forced ofi of the former by the pusher,and falls through the opening q q in the bed of the machine into areceptacle set under the machine. The pusher commences to move downwardimmediately after the rear plunger '0 commences its backward motion, andthe upward motion of the pusher f commences as soon as the frontplunger, h, commences to move forward, and is finished and the head ofthe pusher withdrawn into its recess in the face of the former and abovethe surface of the face of the former before the plunger h commences tobend the wire against the former. The head of the pusher disengages thefinished snap-hook from the former, and insures its dropping from themachine by its own weight. The grooves in the ends of the plungers,which fit, conduct, and support the wire, also enable the plungers tomake their respective bends in the wire Without marring it.

There are ten separate cams upon the lower shaft, y, each of which isgrooved, either upon its side or periphery, with square grooves toaccommodate the pins or studs of the levers and their rollers, and oneof them is grooved upon both sides, thus forming a double cam. The camsare secured to the shaft 3 by setscrews, and a small space is leftbetween the cams, so that their position upon the shaft may be variedaccording to the difference in the articles to be formed on the machine.Each of the pins of the levers stands tangential to the shaft y, uponwhich the cams are placed, and the end of each of the pins is of smallerdiameter than the rest of the pin, and forms the axis of the looseroller, which is rotated on it by the friction of the sides of thegroove in the cam, and the shoulder formed in the pin by the axis of theroller prevents the roller from slipping up out of the groove. Thedouble cam is the middle one of the nine placed between the bearings ofthe shaft, and the left-hand portion of this cam, which is of largerperiphery than the right-hand part, has the groove in its lefthand side,and actuates the bent lever h of the front plunger, h, which has itsfulcrum h in the bracket h secured to the under side of the bed, and isconnected with its plunger by two links and the bar it", which moves ina groove in the under side of the bed, and is bolted to the plunger h hbetween its two guides. The right-hand side of the double cam has thegroove upon its side, and actuates the crank-lever v of the rearplunger, which has its fulcrum v in the other bracket, v secured to theunder side of the bed, and is connected with its plunger by the link 22which is jointed to the rear end of the plunger. Next to the double camare placed the cams 3 y, one on each side of it, which actuate thelevers of the vertical plungers s t. The pin and roller of the lever sof the upper or descending plunger engage in the groove of the righthandside of the cum 3 which is placed on the left of the middle cam, and hasits fulcrum s in the upright lug 8 formed in the plate which covers thecap of the rear plunger, and the pin and roller of the lever 25 of thelower or ascending plunger passing under the bed engagein the groove inthe left-hand side of the cam '0 which is placed on the right of themiddle cam, and has its fulcrum in the bracket 01 Next in position areplaced, on each side of the middle cam, the cams g y having the groovesupon their periphery, in which engage the pins and rollers of the leversn 0 p r 0f the four lateral plungers. The levers p r of the secondlateral plungers, p a", which carry the arms of the wire across eachother, are bent, and their pins are placed behind and near the pins ofthe levers n 0 of the first lateral plungers, n o. The ends of the twopins are less than an inch apart, and the front pins are connected withthe respective levers n 0 of the first lateral plungers, and the backpins with the levers p r of the second lateral plungers. All of theselevers n 0"p 1" pass under the bed, and are pivoted on bolts, whichafford the fulcrums n 0 1) r of the levers, and pass through theplungers and the bed, and the levers are connected with their respectiveplungers by links pivoted to the levers, and connected with therespective plungers by stems formed on the under side of the respectiveplungers, and passing through the respective links, and moving in slotsformed respectively in the recesses m m in the bed, beneath therespective plungers. These links are shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.The cam which actuates the lever u of the mandrel u, is placed on theright of the middle cam,and next to the cam 'l which actuates the levers0 7" of the two lateral plungers 0 1' on the right-hand side of theformer, and has the groove upon its periphery. The lever 20 of themandrelis above the bed, and pivoted at its fulcrum u by a bolt to abracket, u, extending from and seoured to the rear right-hand corner ofthe bed, and is pivoted also at its end to the link a, which connects itwith the mandrel, and is pivoted to the upper surface of the mandrelnear its outer end. The cam 3 which actuates the lever d of the movingshear al is placed to the left of the middle cam, and next to the cam31", which actuates the levers a 19 of the two lateral plungers a p 011the left-hand side of the former, and has the groove in its righthandside. This lever d passes under the bed, and is bent at right angles atits fulcrum d, where it is pivoted to the lower part of the head 0 ofthe slide-bar. The two remaining cams y 3 placed within and next to thebearings of the shaft, have the grooves in their periphery, in whichengage the pins and rollers of the respective levers i j, which actu-'ate the milling-spindles 6 3 The right-hand lever, j, passes under thebracket a, and is pivoted to it at its fulcrum j, in the front end ofthe bracket, opposite to the fulcrum of the lever of the mandrel, andalso passes under the outer end of the mandrel. The left-hand lever, t",is pivoted, at its fulcrum i to the upper surface of the arm c ,which issecured to the left-hand side of the bed, and affords the fulcrum of thelever of the carrier. The

respective studs of the levers i j of the millin g-spindles are securedto the upper surfaces and near the outer ends of the levers, and fit inthe rollers in the under part of the grooves in the respective collars tj. The cam 3 which actuates the lever of the carrier, is placed on theleft-hand end of the shaft y, outside of the wheel a, and has the groovein its periphcry.

The direction of the respective grooves in the cams is such as toactuate the respective levers at the proper time to give the respectivemovements to the plungers, shear, carrier, and milling-spindles.

The coil of wire, of suitable size and quality, is placed upon a reel,in a convenient position to be fed into the machine; but before the wireenters the channel of the carrier it is gently uncoiled byleading itbetween the adjustable rollers 0 which restores it to about the samestate as in the course of its manufacture after it was drawn and beforeit was coiled, without straightenin git or impairing its elasticity. Thecarrier 0 commences to move forward at the same time with the frontplunger, h, and finishes its forward motion by the time when thevertical plungers s t make their return movement, and the backwardmotion of the carrier commences as soon as the shears d d have cut thewire, and while it is moving backward the books of the snap hook arefinished, and the complete snap-hook is knocked off of the machine.During the forward motion of the carrier the roulettes are at rest, andthe most advanced piece of wire is moved out of the notches of theroulettes and formed into a snap-hook, except the completion of thehooks by the back plunger and the mandrel. Accordingly, there are fourpieces of wire in the machine at the same time, except when the finishedhook is knocked off, one of which is just out, the next in advance isidle in the notches of the roulettes, the third piece is having its endsmilled, and the fourth is receiving the bends which form it into asnaphook; and while the front plunger is moving forward one piece ofWire is in advance of it, and passing up to the former and around it,and the two next behind it are in the notches of the roulettes, and thecarrier is feeding the fourth piece through the notches of theroulettes.

The machine is automatic in its entire oper' ation, and all of itsmotions are positive.

After the machine is in full operation, at each revolution of the shafty, upon which the cams are placed, a complete snap-hook is deliveredfrom the machine.

The operation of the machine may be as rapid as required, and it willmake twentyfour snap-hooks a minute, although it is run at a low rate ofspeed.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,i-s- 1. The improved machine herein described, for making snap-hooks,consisting of the mechanism for feeding, cutting, and milling the endsof the piece of wire or other suitable material, and bending and formingthe same into a snap-hook, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the former 70, front plunger, h, lateral plungersa 0 p 0", vertical plungers s t, rear plunger, 2;, and abutments k p aW, arranged and operating substantially as described.

3. The combination of the former is, the front plunger, h, the lateralplungers n 0, and the lateral plungers p r, arranged and operating tomake the loop and the inward and outward bends successively in the armsof a piece of wire or other suitable material, substantially asdescribed.

4. The lateral plungers p r, constructed with the projecting ends p 1,combined with their respective abutments 7c" 19 u r and former .70, andoperated to cross the respective arms of the snap-hook, substantially asdescribed. 5. The lateral plungersp r, the vertical movable dies 3 t,the rear plunger, 1), and the mandrel a, combined and operated to formthe hooks of the snap-hook, substantially as described.

6. The combination of the lateral plungers p r and the vertical movabledies or plungers s t, and former 70, arranged and operated to make thepartially-formed hooks w w in the two arms of a piece of wire or othersuitable material, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the. movable dies 8 t, the plunger 41, and themandrel a, arranged and operating substantially as described.

8. The movable die or plunger '0, constructed with two long dies, 11 of,and two short dies, c e, at its inner end, but in reverse positions oneach side of the end of the plunger, in combination with the mandrel a,and operating to complete the bending and forming of the snap-hook,substantially as described.

9. The movable dies or plungers s and if, combined together, andarranged so that their ends act upon each other, substantially asdescribed.

10. The plunger t, hearing at its lower end the pin it", and connectedto and operated by the lever t as described, in combination with theslotted standard 6 as and for the purpose specified.

11. The movable dies at 0 p r, constructed with loose joints, and movingin seats formed in the recesses in the bed, in combination with theplates having beveled edges, and set in the recesses, so as to allow thedies to rise and fall in the course of their forward and backwardmotions, substantially as and for the purpose described.

12. The movable die h in combination with the roulettes c e and griperg, operated by the movable die M, and arranged substantially asdescribed.

13. The movable die h roulettes c e, and the griper g, in combinationwith the milling mechanism, substantially as described.

14. The movable die or plunger h h, constructed in two parts, united bya loose joint, and having the forward part, h, depressed to the bed a atits inner end, h, with the open recess between the bed and the forwardpart, h, in combination withthe bed, upon which the plunger moves, andthe notches of the roulettes, which hold the wire, so as to allow thewire to be advanced on the bed in the recess beneath the forward part,h, of the plunger, and to be further advanced on the bed toward theformer k by the depressed end of the plunger, which rides over the wirein its backward movement, substantially as described.

15.'The movable die h h in combination with the stud of the standard h,secured to

